The U.S. Department of Labor has accused Google Inc. of paying its female employees less than their male counterparts, The Guardian reported April 7.

The gender pay gap allegations were disclosed during a court hearing in San Francisco, with Department of Labor regional director Janette Wipper testifying that the agency "found systemic compensation disparities against women pretty much across the entire workforce" at the Alphabet Inc. unit.

Those allegations stem from evidence obtained as part of an ongoing investigation conducted by the Labor Department, which in January sued Google to compel the company to submit compensation data and other supporting documents for a routine compliance review.

Google, which in an Equal Pay Day tweet on April 4 claimed to have "closed the gender pay gap globally," said it vehemently disagreed with the charges, according to The Guardian.